TOTAL WAR WIKI

Great Arsenal
Category:	Ordnance
Level:	2
Turns to build:	4
Building cost:	2000
European Indian Middle Eastern
Requires
Ordnance Factory
Technology
Explosive Shells
Enables
Gunnery School

A great arsenal is a government-owned factory, intended to manage the manufacturing and development of long guns and all the paraphernalia needed.

The development of new cannons is an expensive and sometimes risky business, and one that the state likes to keep under its immediate control. No government likes to contemplate rebellion, but central control of heavy artillery and its production is a wise policy. Rebels without cannons are an annoyance: with large guns, rebels can become revolutionaries!

Large guns are necessary for armies (and navies, for that matter) to operate effectively. The ability of a nation to project its power in war is, in large part, measured by the size and variety of its artillery train.

Historically, the arsenals of many states were peacetime stores for cannons, shot and powder; domestic peacekeeping by an army rarely required artillery. Once cast, a cannon barrel could spend decades in storage before being mounted on a carriage and used in anger. Gunpowder, too, could spend neglected years in storage, and this caused all kinds of problems when it was finally issued to gunners. Money for the upkeep of stores also caused problems, too often ending up in the pockets of the Masters of Ordnance and his friends!